Shehimo ( syr, , ml, ഷഹീമോ; English: Book of Common Prayer, also spelled Sh'himo) is the West Syriac Christian

breviary A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such ...

of the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascu ...

and the West Syriac Saint Thomas Christians of India (

Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC), or the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India also known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, the Jacobite Syrian Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, ...

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. The church serves ...

, Marthoma Syrian Church and Thozhiyur Church) that contains the seven canonical hours of prayer. The Shehimo includes Bible readings, hymns and other prescribed prayers from the West Syriac Liturgical system. Within the breviary there are certain prayers that are recited at seven fixed prayer times, while facing the east at home or at church. The Shehimo also provides communal prayers as an introduction to the Holy Qurbono. The practice of praying during the canonical hours has its roots taken from , in which the prophet David prays to God seven times a day. The Shehimo breviary can be prayed either by reading or

chanting A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

the prose or singing the verses. The different versions of the breviary are available in

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

, English, among other languages.

History

The Shehimo is considered a treasury of Syriac Christianity, dating back all the way to the

4th century The 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini/Common era) was the time period which lasted from 301 ( CCCI) through 400 ( CD). In the West, the early part of the century was shaped by Constantine the Great, who became the first Roma ...

. Traditionally, the early texts were originally in Syriac only but, with the work and translations of the late Mr. C. P. Chandy, the prayers were made available in Malayalam while still preserving the original Syriac meter. In the 1960s, Fr. Bede Griffiths of

Kurisumala Ashram Kurisumala Ashram is a Trappist monastery of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in the Sahya Mountains in Vagamon, Kerala, India. History Francis Mahieu, a Trappist monk from the Scourmont Abbey in Belgium came to Kerala to start the as ...

translated an English prose version of the Pampakuda edition Shehimo which was the only English Shehimo version existing among the Syrian scholars. This 2016 version of the Shehimo is a versified edition of the two works by a team of theologically trained individuals in America.

Baby Varghese Baby Varghese, () born in India, is a Malankara Orthodox priest and a Church historian and scholar in Syriac Liturgical Theology. Education After graduating from CMS College in Kottayam, Varghese joined Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kotta ...

writes, "This publication is a first attempt at the English versification stemming from these individuals' love for the Syriac liturgy." There are currently no active attempts at a revision.

Order of Canonical Hours

The seven hours of prayers begin the day before with Ramsho (Evening) and end the day of with Tsha' sho'in (9th Hour), following the definition of a day in the

Christian Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a v ...

(cf. ).

Themes

At the beginning of the week, which is Sunday, believers participate in the public celebration of the Holy Qurbono. The Holy Qurbono or divine liturgy remembers the

birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

, public ministry,

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

, death, resurrection, ascension and

second coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messia ...

of Christ. The overarching theme for Sunday is celebrating the

Resurrection of Christ The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lord ...

. The themes for the remaining days of the week are as follows. *Monday and Tuesday –

Repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...

*Wednesday – The

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or '' Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations ar ...

*Thursday – The Holy

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

, Saints *Friday – The Holy Cross, Martyrs, Confessors *Saturday – The Faithful Departed

Usage

Worshipers pray the Shehimo at seven

fixed prayer times Fixed prayer times, praying at dedicated times during the day, are common practice in major world religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Judaism Jewish law requires Jews to pray thrice a day; the morning prayer is known as Shachari ...

everyday, corresponding to the number of canonical hours in the breviary. They pray while facing the eastward direction; towards an altar or Iconostasis. This tradition is derived from the book of in the Bible. The vast majority of the people who use the Shehimo books have learned the songs and prayers of the Shehimo at an early age, from their church life and daily family prayers at home. Before beginning each hour of Shehimo prayers, one must wash their hands and face in order to be clean before and present their best to God; and their shoes are removed in order to acknowledge that one is offering prayer before a holy God. In this Christian tradition, and in many others as well, it is customary for women to wear a

head covering Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, ...

or shawl when praying. The offices used in the Shehimo, with the exception of Sunday and major feast days (Christmas, Easter, etc.) all involve prostrating; prostrations are done thrice during the Qaumo prayer, at the words "Crucified for us, Have mercy on us!", thrice during the recitation of the Nicene Creed at the words "And was incarnate of the Holy Spirit...", "And was crucified for us...", & "And on the third day rose again...", as well as thrice during the Prayer of the Cherubim during "Blessed is the glory of the Lord, from His place forever!" Members of the

Mar Thoma Syrian Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India'. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar ...

(Reformed Syrians), pray the Shehimo seven times a day, omitting the Hail Mary prayer and intercession to saints, veneratory prayers are regarded optional and said following the recitation of the Qaumo. Incense is offered by the priest or a bishop (if present) into a censor which is swung by either a priest or deacon. When incense is offered inside of the church, the veil is opened and the altar, icons, relics, church and people are censed. Incense is offered during the Promion, Etro, Gospel and Quqlions. The practice of offering burnt incense comes from the Bible; in Exodus where God instructs Moses to build an altar and burn incense there.

Exodus 30: 1-8 "Now you shall make an altar of incense of incorruptible wood. You shall make it a cubit in length and a cubit in width—it shall be square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. You shall overlay its grating, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a rim of gold all around. Two gold rings you shall make for it under the molded rim on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it. You shall make the poles of incorruptible wood and overlay them with gold. You shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the testimonies, where I will make Myself known to you. Aaron shall burn on it fine compounded incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. When Aaron lights the lamps in the evening, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations."

During the season of Great Lent in the Christian calendar, forty prostrations are done daily after the completion of 6th Hour (Sheth sho`in). The Shehimo book is available for purchase on the official LRD website. The book is also accessible online using the free LRD mobile app for the App Store and Google Play Store.

Structure

Monks praying at the Syriac Orthodox monastery of Saint Matthew overlooking the Nineveh Plains

The hours of each day follows a similar theme or pattern. For example, the Soutoro of each day has a theme of repentance. During the Watches of Lilio, the first qaumo commemorates the Mother of God, second qaumo the saints, third qaumo varies on the day, and the fourth qaumo is a general theme. The theme of Tloth sho`in is reflective of the theme of the day. The prayers of Sheth sho`in commemorates the Mother of God, the saints and the faithful departed. The prayers of Tsha' sho`in always commemorates the faithful departed. Each office or hour begins with the reciting of the Qaumo or Trisagion ("Thrice Holy"). Then followed by that is the Introductory prayer. To end each of the hours of worship there is again a Qaumo with the exception of at the end of Soutoro where th
Praise of the Cherubim
is used. Additional all of terminal offices ends with the Nicene Creed.

Eight Modal System

In the West Syriac Orthodox Tradition, there are originally 8 modes for singing, in Malayalam they are referred to as "Nirams", and in West Syriac as "T'mone Rekne". The 8 modes correspond to the 7 days of the week. This system has fallen out of practice in Malankara in favor of easy to remember and catchy Contemporary Christian melodies. It is uncertain when or where the

octoechos Oktōēchos (here transcribed "Octoechos"; Greek: ;The feminine form exists as well, but means the book octoechos. from ὀκτώ "eight" and ἦχος "sound, mode" called echos; Slavonic: Осмогласие, ''Osmoglasie'' from о́см ...

originated, but many credit the theologian St. Severios of Antioch. The different days, themes and tones for the fixed hours are included below. (Please note R = Ramsho. S = Soutoro and M = Sapro). Dormition of Saint Ephraim the Syrian (Cretan, 15th c

Dormition of Saint Ephraim the Syrian (Cretan, 15th c

The rekne' for each Sunday is found in the

Beth Gazo Beth Gazo ( ; literary "the house of treasure") is a Syriac liturgical book that contains a collection of Syriac chants and melodies. The book is considered a reference of Syriac Hymnody and without it clerics belonging to the West Syriac Traditi ...

. For the remaining four hours, the "''Two Rekne' Per Week''" system is followed. When using the two rekne' alternating system, if the week starts with rekno' 1 on the first day (Sunday) it will follow with rekno' 5 on the second day (Monday). The week will continue alternating between rekne' 1 and 5 until the next Sunday. The following week on Sunday, rekno' 2 will be used with rekno' 6 alternating. An 8-week model has been included below. (Please note the system may vary or reset depending on certain feast days occurring during the week. It is a custom to seek the intercessions of the Mother of God and all the saints and to pray for the faithful departed while praying the Shehimo. These are done through the Quqlions (Greek) in English they are called "cycles". When sung, all of the Quqlions follow the same structure. The Pethgomo' (word or verse), Eqbo (foot or base), Qolo (song) and Bo'utho (petition). The Quqlions, respected Pethgomo', the Psalm excerpt and general rekno' are listed below. (Please note syr = Syriac. mal = Malayalam. eng = English).

References

External links

Liturgical Resource Development - Shehimo and Holy QurbanakramamShehimo Recordings - St. Thomas Indian Orthodox ChurchLiturgical Resource Development Ministry - Shehimo
{{Oriental Orthodoxy footer Breviaries Christian prayer books Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Oriental Orthodoxy in India